6 teen musicians to perform in Grand Teton Music Festival scholarship competition – JH News&Guide

Six teenage music students looking to continue their studies in college will vie for $50,000 in scholarships this weekend in the eighth annual Donald Runnicles Musical Arts Scholarship Competition.

During the semifinal round, which starts at 10 a.m. Saturday in Walk Festival Hall, the six will perform 20-minute programs, including works by Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Mendelssohn, Bach, Beach and Barber, Dvorak, Shostakovich, Beethoven and even a couple of original compositions.

A panel of judges will narrow the field to three finalists, who will perform again at 1 p.m. Sunday to determine who wins $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000 prizes.

Both rounds are open to the public and free to attend.

The Runnicles competition is funded by an anonymous Grand Teton Music Festival donor who wished to honor the Scottish-born music director of the festival. The festival solicits applications from music students in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana in the spring. This year yielded 17 applicants according to Ashley Hernandez-Salinas, the festival’s community engagement manager.

Applications were screened in June with these six semifinalists selected: Bryce Wood, piano, Boise, Idaho; Benjamin Zielinski, flute, Florence, Montana; Charles R. Snellman, cello, Helena, Montana; Shelby Kay Cox, violin, Laramie, Wyoming; Evan Whipple, violin, Casper, Wyoming; and Aidan Kenneth Koch, French horn, Boise, Idaho.

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